Workshop discusses adult vaccination and shingles prevention

Panelists discuss on adult vaccination and shingles prevention in Hà Nội on November 21. — VNS Photo Thanh Hải

HÀ NỘI — Health experts discussed adult immunisation and shingle prevention, especially immunosenescence and the burden of disease in the adult population at a workshop on Thursday.

The event was organised by the Vietnam Medical Association with the participation of leading experts in nephrology, respiratory, endocrinology and rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease fields (RMDs).

Experts discussed the strategy for adult vaccination and launched the 'Shingles Prevention with Vaccination' guidebook for healthcare professionals, marking an important milestone in preventing shingles in adults over 50 years of age in Việt Nam, particularly those with chronic diseases.

The guidebook brings together information on the pathology, complications and epidemiology of shingles while updating current preventive measures applicable in Việt Nam. This is the result of close cooperation among leading medical experts from various specialties, medical associations and hospitals to systematise guidelines for a unified prevention programme.

“Vaccination for shingles prevention is a medical solution that has been available since 2006. From 2017 until now, vaccination for shingles prevention has been used in over 50 countries such as the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Through this guide, we hope healthcare professionals will have a solid reference to advise and help patients prevent shingles, especially those with underlying health conditions,” said Professor Nguyễn Văn Kính, Vice President of the Việt Nam Medical Association.

Delegates launch the “Shingles Prevention with Vaccination” guidebook for healthcare professionals. — VNS Photo Thanh Hải

Professor Dr Trần Hữu Dàng, President of the Việt Nam Endocrinology and Diabetes Association, said: “Shingles is a dermatological condition with long-term and potentially serious impacts, especially for those with underlying conditions like diabetes. Shingles not only causes prolonged severe pain but has also been associated with disruption of blood sugar control and can affect quality of life. Therefore, proactive prevention of shingles is crucial to protect health and limit complication risks in diabetic patients.”

At the event, experts said that treating shingles and managing complications like postherpetic neuralgia is complex. Antiviral medications need to be initiated early within 72 hours, however, this is challenging in clinical practice.

Furthermore, current treatments for shingles and postherpetic neuralgia are not entirely effective. Older adults often take multiple medications for underlying conditions and may not tolerate additional medications for acute shingles or chronic postherpetic neuralgia.

Besides preventive measures like exercising, not smoking, eating healthily and screening for chronic diseases, vaccination plays an important role in enhancing adult health.

Research shows that one in three adults will develop shingles. Over 90 per cent of adults aged 50 and above harbour the latent varicella-zoster virus (VZV) in their nervous system, raising the risk of developing shingles. Notably, postherpetic neuralgia can persist for more than three months. The disease can cause rare but serious complications such as vision loss, when shingles impacts the eye and hearing loss. Studies have also shown the association of shingles with cardiovascular complications such as stroke.

According to the Ministry of Health’s Preventive Medicine Department, Việt Nam currently has around 22 million people aged 18-69 with chronic diseases, primarily non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer. — VNS